L.A. Film Festival closes with premiere of 'The Way, Way Back'

Steve Carell, Toni Collette and Liam James attend the premiere of Fox Searchlight Pictures' "The Way, Way Back" over the weekend.

Steve Carell, Toni Collette and Liam James attend the premiere of Fox Searchlight Pictures' "The Way, Way Back" over the weekend. (Todd Williamson / Invision for Fox Searchlight)

Dana Ferguson

The comedy "The Way, Way Back," which closed the Los Angeles Film Festival on Sunday, is a coming-of-age story based on events that really happened in the life of the film's co-writer and co-director, Jim Rash.

The film, which played before a packed house at the Regal Cinemas at LA Live, centers on Duncan (Liam James), an awkward teenage boy dealing with his parents’ divorce while his mother Pam (Toni Collette) starts a new relationship with Trent (Steve Carell). While on a summer get-away at Trent’s beach house, Duncan finds a group of friends and a better understanding of himself at the nearby “Water Wizz” water park.

In an interview before the screening, Rash said the idea for the script stemmed from a scene in his life. As a young man his stepfather asked him how he would rank himself on a scale of one to 10. Just as it plays out in the first scene, Rash rated himself a six while his stepfather rated him a three.